Category: 12 Day of Crafting

I thought about naming this blog post “Keeping it Crafty During COVID19” but honestly, I think I’m a little burnt out on seeing it COVID-19 in my newsfeed. While I’m fully aware that this won’t be over anytime soon, I’ve got my ways of coping that don’t involve being glued to a computer screen. For me, I do best when I stay busy.

I’m using this social distancing and self-isolation as a time to get work done, self reflect and really tackle that “someday I’ll do this” to-do list that I have been putting off for… forever.

This past weekend in the life of a crafter:

Organized my craft shelf

Prepped 20+ towels for embroidery

Revived the “Can’t Touch This” Cactus Pattern

Began embroidering a new patter: “The Lone Star State” Towel

Upcoming Projects:

Redoing taxes from previous years (yea, I know I’m torturing myself, but it’ll be worth it)

Somehow connecting with a few remaining Kickstarter Contributors that have not responded to any emails, updates, etc. to get them their incentives so I can sleep at night!

Other things I’ve been working on are making sure I keep my days are as structured as possible. For example, from 6 am to 7am, I enjoy my coffee, from 7-8 am I go for a walk and stretch, 9 am-3 PM it’s time for work. I’m also making it a goal to reach out to one person that I haven’t spoken to in a while and actually call them!

These next few weeks will certainly be different, but we will get through! Happy Self-Isolation, y’all!

Today is the final day before the Handmade Holiday Show at OPA! I thought I would take a moment to share one more post with you before the big day! As promised in my last post on Wednesday, I have something a little on the matchy-matchy side. To stick with the “what’s in season” category, I thought it only appropriate that pears should be included. I will have pear embroidered tea towels as well as a pear canned good. I’m feeling somewhat mysterious this morning and thinking that I might not actually reveal what the pear canned good is… just to leave you hanging, curious, and inquisitive. Maybe you’ll feel so inspired as to come out tomorrow afternoon?

Orange is the new black. Alright, admittedly I’ve never seen the show, but it’s a pretty appropriate title, don’t ya think? Meaning to say…. Citrus is in season, baby! Not just actually in season at the local farmers market, but on my blog too! I thought it would be a great idea to have matching towels with the canned goods I have prepared for this Saturdays event! So, here it is Orange Curd and Orange towels! Woot Woot!

When I first started experimenting with canning I asked everyone what there favorite jam or jelly was. The people pleaser inside of me was eager to make an impression. Naturally, I asked my mother. She was quick to let me know that her favorite flavor out of a jar was lemon curd. I was quick to learn that it is one of mine too.

Being in Texas we have the luxury of having some really great organic citrus grown in our backyard in McAllen, TX. G&S Grove, check them out. (Seriously, the best grapefruit I’ve ever had.) So why does delicious curd have to stop with lemons?

I heard through the grapefruit vine that a friend liked grapefruit curd, viola, it appeared! I had done a blend of grapefruit and orange, which was delightful! This holiday season, I will be introducing straight up orange curd! Yes, I certainly tried my darn-dest not to eat it all before canning it up!

I will have these little babies available at the Holiday Handmade Show at OPA! this Saturday! See you there!

Ok, Ok, it’s no secret I’m completely head over heels, and googly eyed over refinishing furniture. Like most projects they need a home. A stack of embroidered towels is one thing, but a collection of furniture seems to build up a lot quicker in a one bedroom apartment.

I reached out to my friends to see if anyone was interested in having me refinish a piece for them. I cast my line and I waited, waited, and finally got a bite, or in this case, a dresser. I couldn’t be more thrilled!

A couple days later, Melissa dropped off this unfinished pinewood dresser. She gave me her guidelines of what she was looking for and I ran, ran, ran with it. I think I was just so excited to finally be able to work with an item that I could put new hardware on! I mean, let’s be real, who hasn’t stood in the home goods section of Anthropologie and ogled the various knobs and handles? I mean, I even have my best friend saved in my phone as “Lindsey Door Knobs” because of our first bonding moment of Anthropologies gorgeous door knobs.

I digress… back to the dresser. It was fun to work with a completely blank slate. After priming it, I painted this it bright blue with a top a little bit more neutral to be able to tie it into it’s surroundings. The blue was really blue, so I put a nice coat of walnut stain over it to mute the blue and give it some texture. I lined the drawers with the teal and white patterned paper and screwed in the glass knobs for the final touches. This piece is so far my favorite that I’ve done!

If you need a piece of furniture refinished, contact me today! lauraleeeimhoff@gmail.com

One more thing, while I have your attention: I will be in another craft fair this coming Saturday at OPA Coffee & Wine from Noon to 4 PM. Details here.

Today the sun is shining and here I am, I’ve slept in and missed most of the day (in my defense, I was completely unable to sleep last night). My plan today was to have an admin day updating profiles, blog pages, Etsy shop, and email list. Not exactly what I want to be doing when the sun has come out in what seems like the first time in weeks!

While I may make a post to my blog during what remaining daylight there is, the rest of my computer work will have to wait until this evening. If you need me you can find me outside, with tea towels, embroidery floss, and a very large ice coffee soaking up all the Vitamin D I can. I just hope amongst hopes that the weather remains to stay nice during the madness of SXSW and next Saturdays Blue Bonnet Bazaar !

That’s right! I’ll be partaking in the second Bluebonnet Bazaar. While I won’t be feverishly blogging in the spirit of “12 Days of Crafting” like in December, I will be featuring an item or two before the event. So please, stay tuned, check in, etc. etc. etc.

The dust has settled and I am slowly cleaning up my apartment from the mania of 12 Days of Crafting and prepping and so on. I’m not going to lie, I had nightmares the entire week before that I wouldn’t be able to sell a single item or that no one would like anything. I am relieved and so very thankful to say that my first craft fair was a success. I am very much looking forward to participating in many more, that is right after I restock my inventory!

I did much better than I anticipated. There is a glimmer of hope that I could quite possibly continue to do what I do… and, wait for it, make a living off of doing what I love doing the most: making.

Here are some pictures from my table. I hope you enjoy! I have some items left, so if you are looking for Christmas gifts, search no further! Feel free to contact me!

Day 11: Not Quite Hallmark

I am nerdy excited about these little cards. Most, if not all of my friends are foodies of sorts. In fact, when I used to work at Johnson’s Backyard Garden some of us would try to come up with cute veggie sayings and jokes. I have been wanting to make cute little cards like these for a long time.

I find that most Hallmark cards are too cheesy and some locally made cards are just a tad too snarky. I am not too particularly concerned if anybody even buys these at the Bluebonnet Bazaar this coming Saturday, because to be honest, I will use them all!

Anyway, the images are prints or watercolors/drawings that I have done. I hope you like!

Day 10: The Barbara Dowling

This post is dedicated to Barbara Dowling. I will say right now that this one may not be eloquent or well written but please know that it is particularly dear to my heart and particularly difficult to write. I know I have mentioned Barbara Dowling in the past. She was my stained glass professor at the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She was far more than just a professor though. She was one charged glass of water who became my mentor in art, men, life, etc. She introduced me to the glass world, taught me to take creative risks, and the ground work to the business of the art world. But to a young woman coming into her own, she taught me that it was okay to be myself. Coming from a high school experience that sent me home crying every day coupled with teenage years that lacked a creative mother figure, she guided me while I figured out who I was. She helped me find the balance between my incredibly wild side and just as incredibly sensitive side. The one thing I cannot thank Barbara enough for was helping me reconnect and build a strong relationship with my mother.

I got word last week that Barbara passed away. I am still a part of the email thread that spread the word and while everyone is sending their condolences, I find myself completely unable to say anything on the thread, but yet, I can write here. I didn’t shed a tear when I first got the news, but I find as I type this note with every key stroke I fall more and more apart.

I realize that this is Day 10 of the 12 Days of Crafting and not the 10 run on sentences of sadness, but it’s Christmas time and we should be celebrating the ones we love, whether they are here or not.

When I got the news of Barbara’s passing, I pulled out pictures, notes from her lectures, and a few remaining stained glass projects I had packed away. One project I found was a box of glass bells. As many of you know, I play music. When I was in college, I was just really starting to perform and have shows. Barbara challenged me to make music with my visual art. I ended up making a collection of 50 glass bells. I hung them in a few trees in the park where there was lots of foot traffic and spent hours recording the sounds of the glass bells clinking together in the breeze, cracking against each other, crashing on the concrete, and the comments of passers by.

I have since lost the audio and photos of this project, but I have a few remaining bells. I have turned these bells into candle holders. I want to share these with the world and hope that they bring light to someone else’s life like Barbara brought light to mine.